Equity, the actors’ union in Australia, last week declared that it is on strike and that its members will not work on foreign (“offshore”) TV commercials until a labor agreement is reached with the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA).
Back in June, SPAA exercised a 45-day out clause, announcing its intent to withdraw on Aug. 7 from the offshore commercials contract with Equity that had been in effect since 2005. SPAA contends that this contract has put Australia at a competitive disadvantage, translating into a significant decrease in foreign spot work, particularly from the U.S. and U.K.
Geoff Brown, executive director of SPAA, said that New Zealand, South Africa and Canada have wrested away offshore work that had typically been shot in Australia because by comparison employing actors is more expensive and complex Down Under due to terms of the Equity contract.
“When we first negotiated that contract [in ’05], transparency about rates was thought to have been desirable,” said Brown. “But it has turned against us. We need more flexibility to be competitive. We need to break out of the straitjacket of fixed session fees and fixed usage rates so we can be more responsive to our clients, especially in light of the tight global economy.”
Brown said that producers have been able to save some offshore jobs by going on a per project basis to Equity to attain certain flexibility in compensation. But this individual case-by-case modus operandi is no way to do business given the pressing time schedules of the advertising industry. He contended that a more flexible working agreement is needed. “We have clients from the U.S. coming to us and asking for a quote that is within a certain talent budget range, and we cannot meet those requests under the labor agreement we had in place.”
Brown added, though, that SPAA does not want to throw out the entire agreement. He said that SPAA would like to retain a safety net of work practice protections for actors, contingencies for cancellations, postponements and the like.
SPAA and Equity representatives met a couple of weeks ago, and both sides expressed a desire for continued dialogue. However that dialogue has not yet come to pass. Simon Whipp, director of Equity (which is part of Australia’s Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance–MEAA), claimed that SPAA had not responded to an Equity invite for further discussion. He noted that in their last communique, SPAA “advised us they were prepared to negotiate a new agreement covering anything other than money. But money is a central issue that needs to be addressed.”
Whipp said he shares SPAA’s desire to keep and attract more offshore production. But he affirmed that SPAA pulling out of the contract unilaterally sans consulting with Equity is no way to do that.
Brown, however, claimed that SPAA has expressed strong concerns to Equity about the labor contract dating back to ’07 when it was becoming apparent that Australia was losing a major share of foreign business.
Whipp said that Equity was preparing for possible picketing of casting agents and/or commercial productions seeking to engage performers in breach of the strike.
Brown meanwhile noted that SPAA, if need be, could formulate and release contingency plans this week for producers in response to the strike.
Whipp said so-called “contingencies” like trying to get Equity members to break ranks and work, or bringing in foreign performers won’t fly. “If I’m an advertising executive in Chicago or New York, the last thing I want is uncertainty if I’m considering producing a commercial in Australia. We would like to create certainty by getting back into talks for a contract.”
Brown observed that the “strike” that truly concerns him is the one being conducted by “our offshore clients who are no longer working here. If we cannot attract foreign work, then what are the actors striking against? There’s little or no work to strike unless we make some changes.”
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More